A U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (Navair)-sponsored program developed with Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) support is creating better computer-generated urban scenes for training systems.
Dozens of U.S. Navy-approved “deviations,” or waivers from service-required manning and other associated regulations over the past six years since construction began, mark the Littoral Combat Ship as a different breed of ships, according to a 2011 Navy document justifying the waivers. The waivers deal mostly with manning issues and highlight the differences in how LCS vessels are meant to be operated, according to the service.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is assembling a variety of “pressurizable” commercial airliner fuselages to be used for live-fire testing at the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Test Center in northern Maryland. The work is part of a long-running Army and DHS program to study cabin locations or designs that will yield the least damage if a bomb found onboard an aircraft detonates.
PARIS — Thales is hoping to complete development this year of a Ku-band satellite communication antenna designed for use on helicopters. The system — known as Antares-H — is a spin-off of other Antares products designed for medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) UAVs and fixed-wing aircraft. The company argues there is an increasing desire from the military for more data such as full-motion video to be sent back to commanders, and this will require such antennas, despite their weight, size and complexity.
MORE NUKES: The U.S. and Russia are reducing their operational nuclear arsenals, but China expanded its nuclear arsenal in 2012, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri). At the start of 2013 the eight known and suspected nuclear states — the U.S., Russia, U.K., France, China, India, Pakistan and Israel — possessed roughly 4,400 operational nuclear weapons, with 2,000 kept on high alert. Moreover, all five legally recognized states — China, France, Russia, U.K. and the U.S.
NEW DELHI — Indian authorities have filed charges against an official with anti-aircraft system manufacturer Rheinmetall Air Defense (RAD) for allegedly paying bribes to help it avoid being blacklisted in India. A spokesperson with India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) tells Aviation Week that bribery charges have been registered in a special court against Gerhard Hoy, the representative in India of Rheinmetall, along with Indian businessman Abhishek Verma and his wife, Anca Neacsu.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is assembling a variety of “pressurizable” commercial airliner fuselages to be used for live-fire testing at the U.S. Army’s Aberdeen Test Center in northern Maryland. The work is part of a long-running Army and DHS program to study cabin locations or designs that will yield the least damage if a bomb found onboard an aircraft detonates.
When Lockheed Martin began developing the F-35 in 2001, several technologies needed for the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) to succeed were far from ready. One was a revolution in helmet-display technology. The goal was to combine the functionality of head-up and head-down displays and a helmet-mounted cueing system into a single helmet for the F-35 pilot. But Vision Systems International (VSI), a Rockwell Collins/Elbit Systems joint venture, encountered some thorny issues while maturing the technology.
With troubles on its eastern borders, it is perhaps no wonder that Turkey wants to keep a close eye on its frontiers. Turkey sees unmanned aerial vehicles as the ideal platform for this important role but has been frustrated by export controls which have prevented the country from being able to buy the U.S.-built armed General Atomics Predators and Reapers it has long desired.
Live-fire testing on pressurized single-aisle and widebody aircraft cabins is set to start at the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Test Center in northern Maryland. The work is part of a long-running Army and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program to study locations or designs that will yield the least damage if a bomb found onboard an aircraft detonates.
Turkey is awaiting the imminent maiden flight of the Hurkus, a turboprop training aircraft named for one of the country's greatest aviation pioneers. Vecihi Hurkus is the most celebrated Turkish aviator, who achieved many of the country's aeronautical firsts. As well as being the first Turk to shoot down an enemy aircraft, he was also the first to design and build an indigenous aircraft in the 1920s. But his numerous designs failed to move beyond the prototype stage.
The A400M's fly-by-wire system is based on the three-axis digital flight controls developed by Airbus for the A380, but modified to increase maneuverability and agility. The maximum bank angle is 120 deg. and load factor 3g. Software provides flightpath stability, plus high- and low-speed flight-envelope and overstress protection.
Over the last two decades, Turkey has modernized its air force with “off-the-shelf” combat aircraft and weaponry, but it has been sorely limited in what it could procure.
In what could be the biggest shake-up of U.S.-funded science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) promotional efforts since the dawn of the space age, the Pentagon, NASA and Department of Homeland Security are set to lose many of their STEM programs.
Producing up to 11,065 shp, at an 860-rpm propeller speed for takeoff, the TP400-D6 is the most powerful turboprop to enter production in the West. The engine is built by Europrop International, a consortium comprising Rolls-Royce in the U.K., Snecma in France, MTU Aero Engines in Germany and Industria de Turbopropulores in Spain.
Turkey wants to shape itself into a major aerospace and defense exporter in the coming years. Last year, the country's A&D sector exported $1.28 billion worth of armored vehicles, small patrol boats, electronic warfare and air defense systems. While this represents a small fraction of Turkey's exports each year, its growth is no small part of the government's strategy to become of the world's largest exporters as well as one of the 10 strongest economic world powers by 2023.
Budget constraints are affecting all of Europe, resulting in severe procurement cuts, minimal research and development spending, and an absence of new programs necessary to lay the groundwork for the future. Moreover, leading European countries, which maintain a sizable defense industry, are still striving to reach a consensus on unified operational requirements. Many still dwell in the past, according a higher priority to sovereignty despite the European Union's mission to establish a 27-nation common destiny.
